Duality
by AbjectTestament
Summary: Blake faces the aftermath of a failed Faunus Revolution. With the help of two sisters, the heiress of her enemy's empire, and one faunus that has his own story to tell, she must come to terms with how devastating Remnant can be, and whether or not her life and the lives of those around her are worth living for. RWBY AU.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters.**

 **Blake POV**

Slavery was not something new to me. It was a risk all faunus were aware of then the revolution started, and unfortunately it became a reality for all those that survived. I tried my absolute best not to remember that time. I, along with many of my friends, was too young for war.

That didn't exactly stop us however. The brutal but effective training we received as children put us on the front lines. There was no shortage of volunteers. Joining the White Fang was akin to the promise of revenge; to fight for everything we had already lost. Because I was capable of producing a semblance, as well as controlling my aura, I was carefully selected and used accordingly.

The faunus really thought they could win. We had the passion. We had the skill. What we didn't have however, was numbers. Against the average human foot soldier, we had the advantage. But we were outnumbered by the humans from the very beginning, and so when Atlas unveiled its _Sentinel_ line of automated soldiers, our downfall was all too apparent.

Waging a war against machines was impossible. At least, with the numbers and resources we had it was. What economy the faunus had all went into weapon production. There were no secret stashes like the humans believed, and there certainly were no weapons of mass destruction hidden like the propaganda said.

Piece by piece, the revolution was dismantled. Its leaders hunted down and executed, and its people forced into enslavement. Many of the human war generals claimed their share of slaves; the rarer the faunus, the more valuable. I had an aura as well as a semblance, which not only made her rare, but dangerous. Not only would I have been hunted down, I most likely would've been executed.

But, as fate would have it, my identity was one of the few things in the war I could call my own. I was a nameless assassin. So when it came the time for my team to make our final stand, we were just another group of faunus.

All of this led to my purchase by Winter Schnee, head of the Schnee Industrial Empire. The patriarch of the family was assassinated in the war, perhaps one of the White Fang's greatest accomplishments. However, retribution was swift, and Winter seized her late father's empire and brought the hammer down against the faunus.

Weiss Schnee, a girl no older than me, achieved the rank of Lieutenant in the military at an extremely young age, and proceeded to serve under her sister. I hadn't seen either of the Schnees on the battlefield for the majority of the war, but their reputation was infamous.

Weiss Schnee was also the reason I am now a slave. The anger I experienced that day was incomparable to anything else in my short life. My friends were captured, almost every one of them executed or killed in action as they were trying to escape. I was the exception. The younger Schnee ordered her men to stand down, choosing instead to put me in restraints instead of piercing my heart with that rapier of hers.

Whether it was out of misplaced compassion or pity, Weiss saved my life that day, and I have never hated another human more. What drove me away from taking my own life was simply the thought of revenge. And since then, I have been biding my time.

-Line Break-

Serving Weiss Schnee was a relatively simple task at first. The guards of course watched my every movement, but I eventually learned to live with it. In the first few months, I tended to her wants, including everything from cooking her meals to running the most mundane errands.

I hated it. Though I didn't show it, I despised being what was basically a maid to the Schnee heiress. Weiss irked me in more ways than one. She was spoiled and arrogant, and to top it all off she had the nerve to feel like a second class citizen. A small, infinitesimally tiny part of me understood why she acted the way she did sometimes. Being the little sister to the infamous Winter Schnee had to have its drawbacks. When your older sister has won a war, how could you possibly do anything to surpass her?

However, in many other ways I preferred her to her sister. While Winter had a complete disregard for Faunus life in general, not to mention a good amount of disdain, Weiss at least treated them as people. Some of them at least. For me, she reserved a degree of familiarity as well as what could mildly be defined as trust. I suppose that came with the territory of me practically being her maid, secretary, as well as a limited confidant.

After all, no one expects the faunus house slave to have anything to say to anyone.

I was interrupted from my thoughts about the heiress when a sharp vibration on my collar jolted me out of my thoughts. She was calling me. With that in mind, I left my tiny quarters and made my way to her. When I finally found myself looking at the outside of her door, I knocked.

"Come in."

I opened the door and quietly slipped inside.

"You called for me Ms. Schnee?"

She stood there in her usual attire. A pale blue bolero matched with a white combat skirt; the Schnee crest emblazoned on the back. Ice blue eyes flickered toward me, looking at me up and down with an air of evaluation before looking back at the scroll occupying her hands.

"Yes, I have a few things I need prepared today. First off, I will need Myrtenaster returned to me, the engineer should have finished its upgrades and repairs by now. Secondly, have the courtyard cleared for this afternoon. I will be needing it."

I nodded silently, before bowing slightly and turning to leave. That was another thing I preferred about Weiss. She let me forgo the usual formalities that came with being a faunus, at least in private. Why, I had no idea.

After a bit of travelling around the manor, I located the engineer, and appropriated Myrtenaster from the wiry man. The weapon was in a locked case of course, but I noted that the rapier was definitely lighter than the last time I held it.

Holding the weapon made me think of Gambol Shroud, my own weapon from the war. I crafted it myself, but ever since my capture, it has been lost to me. Whether it was locked in a vault or destroyed, I had no idea. The thought of my own creation rusting away buried underneath a ton of scrap metal immediately saddened me, and I shook away the thought.

-LINE BREAK-

I met back up with Weiss in the courtyard, giving her weapon back to her in the process. She hummed in appreciation before unlocking the case, and retrieving its contents, taking a minute to absorb all the changes made.

I was definitely right, the blade looked lighter, and more refined. Upon closer inspection, I saw that another chamber had been added to the revolving mechanism, and the handle was redesigned. Engravings decorated the weapon too. A bit flashy I thought, but it suited her well.

Weiss gave her blade a few customary twirls, before the ringing of her scroll stole her attention. She picked up immediately.

"Have they arrived?...Yes, alright thank you. My men will be there to escort him to me. You may hand him off at the entrance of the manor. Thank you."

She closed her scroll before retreating to the deck overlooking the courtyard. Evidently she was waiting for someone, and the curiosity got the best of me.

"Ms. Schnee, are you expecting someone?"

She glanced away from the entrance of her courtyard to me, and rolled her eyes a bit.

"First off, please just call me Weiss. I despise being called Ms. Schnee, you know that. Especially by you of all people, someone who can't be any older than I am. Besides, Ms. Schnee is my sister. Secondly, yes, obviously I am."

I grew quiet, choosing not to speak again. At this point, I wanted to see how things would play out.

A large sound caused my eyes to shoot toward the entrance. The first thing to come through were Atlesian Sentinel units. I immediately tensed. I knew there were several units on the manor, but for the most part they were never used outside of threat responses. I haven't seen any since the war ended.

Against my fight or flight instincts, I remained where I was. Led by what I could only describe as a full battalion of soldiers, was a man. A boy really, he was probably a little older than me so far as I can tell. He was under heavy restraints, as well as a heavy duty version of the collar I was wearing. A shock variant, if the restraints were anything to go by. He was even fitted with what I could only describe as a muzzle, to my disgust.

As the entourage got closer, I got a better view of this faunus. At least, I assumed it was a faunus. Who else would be so heavily restrained? Curiously enough though, there were no visible animal features that I could discern. He had black hair with dull, red eyes. The colors clashed a bit with his tanned skin, if I had to guess I'd say he spent a lot of time in Vaccuo recently. I could see the obvious muscles through the simple clothing he wore, leading me to believe he was a fighter of some kind.

Weiss looked at the faunus with cold, calculating eyes. She dismissed the guards with a wave of her hand, before approaching him. He met her gaze, unwavering with a hint of ferocity. She spoke.

"You are what they call the Champion of Vaccuo correct?"

He said nothing at first, his gaze still on her, before flickering to me, taking note of both my collar and my ears. He looked back at Weiss, before nodding once.

"Good. I will have Blake escort you to your quarters. You will find proper clothing there, as well as food. You have one hour to change and eat. Then, guards will escort you back here. We'll talk more then. I'll have your equipment here as well."

She looked to me, which I swiftly nodded and prepared to leave.

"One more thing."

Weiss stepped forward with a key, and promptly removed the muzzle from his face. She then disabled his heavy shock collar, before replacing it with a much less obvious one that bore the Schnee crest. Slowly, she keyed in the code to unlock his restraints, one at a time. She kept eye contact with him almost the entire time.

Nodding to herself, she waved to me, which I then took as a sign to leave. I looked at him, before gesturing for him to follow me into the manor.

We walked through the many twists and turns of Schnee Manor, before arriving at the room Weiss specifically directed me to with her scroll. We walked side by side, with one guard behind us and one in front of us. Neither of us said a word.

Before long, we were outside his quarters. I unlocked the door, and opened it for him. As he stepped in he looked back at me, as if expecting me to say something. I stared right back, at first refusing to break the silence, before taking the invitation for what it was.

"My name is Blake."

He inclined his head slightly, before speaking once.

"Oris."

With that, he closed the door behind him. I simply stared at the door for a few seconds, not knowing what to do exactly. He was quite honestly the first interesting that has appeared in this manor for months, part of me was dying to find out more about him, the other cautious about this whole situation.

Pushing aside the thought, I headed back to my own room, intent on resting for a bit. Perhaps I'll find more answers later in the day.

-LINE BREAK-

Weiss didn't call me until the late evening, and as I made my way into the courtyard I could hear what sounded like the clash of metal against metal. My curiosity piqued, I hurried forward past the guards to get a good view on what was going on.

There in the middle of the courtyard Weiss and the new faunus were going at it in a flurry of strikes and parries as the two fought seemingly without reserve. My eyes narrowed as I critically analyzed every move the Schnee heiress made. I haven't seen her in combat in a long time, I needed to see this.

After a while, it was obvious to me who the better combatant was. Oris struck hard, and he struck fast. His weapon of choice was a sword, one longer than my own Gambol Shroud, but with a similar if not thicker blade shape. As I noticed this, I took note of the rest of his gear.

He wore greaves up to his shins, while his torso was covered in what I recognized as a light version of the Atlesian Elite Vanguard armor. While it had no sleeves nor protection for the arms, its dozens of interlocking geometric plates protected the wearer's center mass extremely well. The armor itself also came with protection to the lower body as well, although Oris's seemed to be slightly damaged. It was very good armor, with weak points only in the lower back. Which could be exploited provided you were a good enough shot.

I know this because I spent a good three months hunting an Atlesian Elite just to kill him and study the armor he wore.

 ***BOOM***

A deep bass followed by resounding blast pierced my ears as my attention was abruptly brought back into the fight; Oris produced a massive shockwave somehow, directed at Weiss. Unfortunately, it also came my way. The sound wave was so _visible,_ I had to cover my ears to stop the ringing, which honestly didn't help at all. I brought my eyes back to the fight. _He had a semblance?"_

All of a sudden everything clicked. The restraints. The time spent in Vaccuo. The weapons. This faunus was not only a slave, but he must've spent his time after the war in Vaccuo's famed Gladiator Pits. Usually those fights consisted of Faunus with more predatory animal traits; it was one of the reasons the whole war even started.

The fact that he wasn't executed after the revolution ended was incredible. My amazement quickly died however, as I suddenly realized that his time in the arena must have been beyond brutal. On top of that, if he was a champion like Weiss had mentioned, he must've been extremely expensive. Why is he here?

Oris parried Weiss's flurry of attacks with ease. He batted Myrtenaster aside with the gauntlet on his left arm, one that went all the way to his shoulder, forming a small pauldron. He brought his sword to bear, catching her off guard, but Weiss recovered just in time. She summoned a glyph and shot a torrent of ice at him, but Oris raised his gauntlet again, and this time I saw the glowing device that rested on its outer forearm.

A white barrier sprang to life, the size and shape of a shield, crackling with electricity. I was captivated by it immediately as it allowed none of the ice to pass through. Oris rolled back as Weiss pressed forward with her glyph. The constant torrent of ice forced him onto one knee as his shield took the brunt of the attack.

Finally, Oris retaliated. His sword transformed as he flipped it twice, its blade shortening and rotating down perpendicular to the handle as the body took form. A second later I realized he was holding a gun, one that I couldn't see well from this angle unfortunately. Weiss however, did see the hail of bullets that assaulted her. She blocked a few with her sword before realizing they would overwhelm her, and summoned a shield glyph in response.

Her view momentarily obscured, Oris pounced from his position, choosing to holster the gun onto his back and deactivating his barrier closing the gap with hand to hand combat. His gauntlet provided his left arm with enough protection to rip Myrtenaster out of Weiss's grasp.

He kicked her legs out from under her savagely, before grabbing her neck and putting her into a headlock. I held my breath. One turn and he would snap her neck, and she'd be gone forever.

The world seemed to still. Weiss stopped struggling in his hold as she realized there was no use. There was a moment of utter silence.

Then he released her. She fell forwards, coughing and trying to catch her breath before picking up her weapon and sheathing it. After dusting herself off and making sure her appearance was acceptable, she turned to him.

"Good. Very good. We will continue this for every day this summer. Should I be busy I will let you know in advance. Do you need Blake to escort you back once more?"

Oris looked at her before looking towards me. He shook his head, before turning back and waiting to be dismissed.

"Very well. Blake, come with me. Guards, please escort him back to his quarters after he is disarmed. See to it that he is fed."

Weiss then went and moved to the side, making sure her own weapon was in working condition.

I watched as Oris dismantled and cleaned his rifle. As I got a closer look, I realized it was much shorter than a rifle, possibly a carbine. The long barrel I thought she had seen from afar was in fact blade, which in this case acted as a bayonet. The weapon was skeletal in design, many parts of it exposed and bare. I assumed that was for the weight, which made the most sense.

In one fluid motion Oris morphed it back into a blade. With practiced familiarity, he flipped the sword once, which seemed to cause blade to retract into itself, causing the entire weapon to become nothing more than a somewhat large handle. As for what he did with it, he simply attached it to the lower inner part of the gauntlet itself. He then removed the gauntlet before the guards took it away, and escorted him out of the courtyard.

"Blake, with me please."

With that, she turned and walked away with a flourish, me following behind her. I honestly had no idea what to say to Weiss at the moment, so I said nothing as we headed back to her own room in the manor.

-LINE BREAK-

Thinking back, the fight was mesmerizing to watch. Weiss wasn't lacking in finesse, though she could use some more skill. The girl was talented; I'll give her that. But in a one on one fight I was confident I could easily kill her. She rose through the ranks as a tactician, not a fighter. I unintentionally growled at the thought. If only I could get my hands on Gambol Shroud. If only she weren't surrounded by guards every single day. If only I didn't have this damn collar around my neck.

My violent thoughts ended however, as other memories of Weiss surfaced. Memories that I was still coming to terms with. My relationship with her was a one sided roller coaster; I was careful to keep a silent facade. My expression was always neutral, from day one until now. Even through the first few months, when nearly every waking thought I had was to murder the heiress and her sister in their sleep. But as time went by, my immediate desire to do so quelled. Revenge was always in my mind, but it was no longer at the forefront.

If I, a faunus, was found guilty of the death of Weiss and Winter Schnee, death would be the thing I would have to worry about the least. I'd never live to see the outside of this manor. Was it worth it? I reasoned that I didn't have much to live for, and that killing my owners was the least I could do to avenge my dead friends and allies.

Weiss Schnee was why I was here in this manor acting like a moronic faunus who knew nothing more than how to work. But in truth she wasn't the real reason. In fact, the more I got to know her in the more I realized she wasn't very alike with the people who ended our revolution.

Weiss didn't care for humanity's domination of the faunus. She cared about approval. Her family's approval, to be more precise. But in the end, her family was the reason mine lay in the ground. And for that, I doubt I will ever forgive her.

My thoughts ended as we walked into the heiress's room. This time around, I knew what to expect. To be honest, the first time I walked in here I expected the most lavish, overly luxurious, and vapid room possible. But it wasn't. In fact, it was shockingly lacking in decorations. While it was definitely huge, the only thing that would've made me guess it was Weiss's room was the white and silver color scheme.

"Prepare another set of clothing for me."

With that said, she walked into the adjacent bathroom, leaving me to my task. I swiftly gathered from her wardrobe what I knew she liked to wear in the evenings, laying everything out on the bed for her. My ears twitched as heard the shower turn on, and soon I could hear gentle humming.

I sat down on one of the few chairs usually reserved for her carelessly thrown outerwear on a stressful day and just began to think. How long was I going to continue the way that I did? I no longer planned my assassination of the heiress every week. I didn't plan my escape every month as I once did. I simply existed. That fact alone tore at my insides; had I gotten so used to slavery that I let it claim who I was?

My fingers found themselves on my neck, tracing the collar that attached itself there like a parasite. Weiss had never used it to shock me into submission before. I couldn't same the same about her sister however. And while I would never ever admit it out loud, I was thankful for that. My mind went to war with itself over my conflicting feelings with the younger Schnee.

I was supposed to hate her. Above all else, I needed to hate her. But it was oh so difficult to hate the one person that has ever shown you kindness. Even from my time in the White Fang, I was never shown kindness. We didn't have room for that in our lives, everything that was given or taught to us was for our survival. Looking back, I almost chuckled at the thought. It was a rough way to live, not that any of us ever knew any different.

The sound of the shower turning off brought me back into the present. I rose from the chair and stood by the entrance, ready to leave if Weiss decided she didn't need me anymore.

The handle of the bathroom turned, and the heiress stepped out clad in a pristine towel, hair still damp with water. Her eyes searched the room for me, and when they found me she simply stared before beckoning for me to come closer.

Cautious, I stepped forward, closing the gap between me and her with a few strides. Weiss studied me for what it seemed like the millionth time, and suddenly stepped forward toward me. Our faces were separated by inches. I stared at the ground, not wanting to look her in the eyes. Not because I was afraid of her, but out of habit.

Her slender fingers grasped my chin, bringing my face up to meet her blue eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, as if she was about to say something, but they closed immediately. I was slowly starting to figure out what she wanted. It wasn't something Weiss asked for often. In fact, I could count on one hand how many times she tried this.

She pressed forward, her lips finding their way onto my cheek, before going lower. I stood there as Weiss slowly and tenderly kissed my throat, her hands unconsciously gripping my waist, pushing me back onto the bed.

I eliminated all emotional response to what she was doing to me. Or I tried to. The first time she tried, I recoiled from her out of instinct, shocked at the action. Instead of becoming angry and taking advantage of the fact that she literally owned me, she gritted her teeth and ordered me out. That was an action that did not go unnoticed by me.

The next time she tried, she was wholly intoxicated from a night of drinking. Drinking alone I might add, if I had to guess I would say that she was moping about how she'll never live up to her sister's accomplishments. Again, I pushed her away, electing to keep my distance until she inevitably passed out from the alcohol. I have no idea if Weiss actually remembered that night, but she never mentioned it again.

The third time she attempted something was in a situation not unlike this one. That was the first time I reciprocated. Or at least I didn't pull away. She didn't do anything other than kissing me a few times. I let myself believe it was an entirely physical attraction. It made sense I suppose; I was around the heiress long enough to figure out her dating life wasn't very active.

I nearly jumped as one of her hands found its way to my chest. She wasn't very experienced, but then again neither was I. As her ministrations continued, my body started to respond, although my brain was still trying to catch up. I kissed her back, and suddenly I felt a desire flare up out of nowhere. I purred. I couldn't help it, and I hated that she heard me.

Weiss redoubled her efforts, and after a few more aggressive kisses, she climbed on top of me in the bed, pinning my arms down in the process. I went with it, unsure of how far she wanted to go. As her hands snaked under my shirt, a loud buzzing interrupted the heated silence in the room. She groaned. Loudly. It wasn't the attractive kind either, and for some reason I laughed lightly.

For the first time today, Weiss's lips turned into a small smile, before she got off of me. Unlocking her scroll, she muttered under her breath.

"This had better be important…Yes?"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation as I tried to make sense of what just happened. Weiss was attracted to me. Wonderful. Now the person I kind of want dead wants me in her bed. I didn't know what to feel. I didn't know what my emotions were, nor what they should be. I hated not knowing. Was this normal? I didn't exactly have much time for romantic or sexual endeavors in my short life. I had no fucking clue what to do.

"Yes Winter, I am quite well aware of an application that _I myself filled out._ Yes, I know. This isn't a decision I thought required your input. Beacon Academy is none of your concern. Now if you would do me a favor and not bother me for the rest of the night, that would be much appreciated."

Weiss hung up and somewhat forcefully set her scroll down onto her nightstand, looking at me with tired eyes as she did so. I didn't move a muscle, unsure of how she would react to me right now.

With a sigh escaping her lips, the girl got back into bed, throwing the covers over herself in preparation to sleep. I took this as my cue to get out, and collected myself and prepared to leave. As I stepped toward the door she stopped me,

"No. Stay, please. I want you here for the night."

Her words were awkward, and despite the firm tone she used they still sounded hesitant and unsure. But I obliged nonetheless, and made my way into the bed with her. I pulled the covers over myself, and waited for Weiss to make a move, to which she disappointed me. I could hear her uneven breathing, as well as her constant fidgeting. Was the mighty Weiss Schnee embarrassed to make a move on her faunus slave? The thought almost made me laugh.

Eventually I decided to put aside all my buried feelings of vengeance, and saved the girl from her own embarrassment by curling up beside her, my head resting on her shoulder. As someone who slept alone for her entire life, I enjoyed the body heat of someone else next to me. Weiss took the opportunity, and wrapped an arm around my waist before tucking my head under her chin, before drifting off.

As my exhaustion began to catch up with me, I thought for one fleeting moment about how if someone had told me years ago that I would be in bed sleeping next to Weiss Schnee, I would have probably killed them out of annoyance. Now? I was in the arms of a girl I have managed to both hate and trust at the same time. The last thing that went through my head before sleep claimed me was that she had finally stopped fidgeting.

A/N: First RWBY AU story I've ever written. Drop a review if you like. Oris POV in the coming chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Oris POV**

I hummed in approval as the Weiss dodged and parried another one of my strikes, before countering with one of her own toward my neck. She was learning. Quite quickly too, her progress was impressive. The Schnee girl had an aptitude for combat, and she knew it.

I ducked under the stab and shoulder checked her as I closed the distance. Taken aback, the heiress had no other options but to distance herself with a well-timed glyph, before sending a barrage of ice at me. A very large ice boulder actually. I smirked, she was learning.

Not wasting time, I reeled back my gauntleted arm before concentrating, and let loose a sonic wave that obliterated Weiss's creation, shattering ice everywhere. While she was distracted I charged, intent on catching her off guard once again.

To my surprise, I came face to face with a yellow shield glyph as Weiss came at me from my flank with an exulted expression on her face. This is the first time she has nearly flanked me outright, and I couldn't help but be impressed.

It wasn't to be however, as I brought my shield, or more accurately barrier field, into view without even turning. Mrytenaster bounced off the electrically charged hard light, and I swiftly brought my sword to bear, knocking the weapon straight out her hands before deactivating the shield.

I wasted no time taking advantage of my dominance in hand to hand combat, and brought her down in the next three seconds while she was still reeling from the loss of her weapon. After a few more seconds of struggling, the heiress stilled and huffed, signaling her yield.

I released Weiss, before getting up and extending my unprotected right arm. She took it, and got up herself, before doing her customary dust-off. Impeccable appearance and all that.

"How do you do that?"

I gave her a questioning look, not knowing what she was referring to.

"How on Remnant did you know I had attacked from your left? The ice made it impossible to see anything, and I had anticipated your charge perfectly."

I shrugged, not really wanting to answer this question. But I did anyway, albeit omitting some facts.

"I have a good sense of hearing. I didn't think the shield glyph would be there, but by the time I saw it I heard you immediately to my left. You make too much noise in exertion, right as you were about to strike."

The ice princess shook her head in frustration before sitting down on one of the benches scattered through the courtyard we use to fight in.

"We have been training for three months, yet I have yet to triumph over you in the hundreds of times we have sparred. I don't understand what I'm doing incorrectly."

I sheathed my weapons before taking a seat next to her, and thought a bit before responding.

"You have improved. Immensely. I know I don't always vocalize this but you have. But right now your problem is that you still treat combat like a game of chess. You assess, you plan out accordingly, and you respond with a calculated move designed to counter your opponent most effectively."

Weiss shot me a confused look, and spoke in a biting tone.

"Are you implying that such a technique is worthless?"

I smirked gently before choosing my words carefully.

"Not at all. In a tournament that may work to your advantage. But in a real fight? It hinders you. You don't account for the unpredictable. You never consider that your opponent knows something you don't, or if they have abilities you can't anticipate. You only ever account for the opponent in front of you, never his or her allies. In short princess, right now you fighting style isn't suitable to take on the opponents you want to take on. Especially if you want to take on Beacon Academy."

Weiss sat back with a thoughtful expression on her face, before turning to me once more with a slightly suspicious expression.

"You can do something that I don't know about. Something that no one knows about, can't you?"

I met her scrutinizing gaze with an even expression, choosing not to respond at first.

Weiss's expression hardened immediately.

"I asked you a question. Now answer me."

I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting to respond but knowing that I had to.

"Yes."

Her expression reverted back into its neutral state, and the heiress nodded to herself thoughtfully.

"I thought as much. It makes perfect sense I suppose, but I won't ask you what it is right now. I intend to find out for myself."

She stood up, as did I. I looked for the guard that usually escorts me back to my quarters before she spoke again.

"You won't be taken back to your room quite yet. I'm quite aware your equipment has not been adjusted or fixed since you've arrived at my manor. Alfonse, my engineer, has been scheduled to arrive very soon. Blake will take you to him so that you may make any repairs or retrofits as needed."

I turned to the direction she gestured, before turning back and nodding my thanks to her. I returned my attention to the raven haired cat faunus that made her way to me.

-LINE BREAK-

Blake Belladonna. She didn't know who I was, but I sure as hell knew her. From the day I arrived here in chains, I recognized her. She was practically a hero in the Faunus Revolution, known for several high profile assassinations in the war. Of course, nearly nobody in the White Fang actually knew her face, only her deeds.

The only reason I recognized her was when our missions crossed paths. Or, more like I crossed paths with one of her partners, Adam Taurus. Quite a piece of work that one. Back then my face was covered, and I only met her as another White Fang Soldier. She was with Taurus, and it didn't take me long to piece together her identity after that mission.

My target had been an Atlesian colonel, somewhat high on the political chain. I had been instructed to leave his wife and kids alone. What I hadn't been informed however, was that the Shadow Cat herself and the Mad Bull were there for the purposes of kidnapping the remaining family for ransom. It was all an elaborate plan to dismantle the human political kingdom and turn them against each other.

It didn't exactly work however, as the rumors in the Fang's black ops division is that Taurus had killed the wife. No one knew the details, but suddenly he started working solo after that mission. Not too long after, it seems like the Cat had started working by herself.

Once we put two and two together, the rest of my squad figured it out pretty easily. It's a shame they're all dead now.

How Belladonna managed to escape into this cushy slave life of serving a rich Heiress was beyond me, until I realized that the Schnees had absolutely no idea who they kept under a collar in their own manor. A part of me wanted to laugh, and the other part wanted to be enraged at the fact that she spent the post-war years serving the ice princess as a maid while others with fighting abilities were thrown into the Pits in Vaccuo.

The arena was a completely different animal. It broke the remaining faunus who went in. To know that you had to kill your friends or be killed by them either took the fight completely or drove you to madness. Thankfully I had no remaining friends that were alive after my capture. That doesn't really ease the guilt of the faunus blood that stains my hands, but I've learned to bury those feelings long again.

The only damn reason I survived was due to my faunus traits, as well as my semblance. One was well known, the other completely secret. It was known that I was able to produce and manipulate sonic waves, both offensively and defensively. What wasn't known however, was the other little thing I could do.

Three people in this world know what kind of faunus I am. Two of them are dead. All in all, it's become pretty obvious to me that there weren't many bat faunus in existence. My lack of…visible outer traits were actually a great advantage. The problem? I chose the losing side during the war. I regret nothing, but I paid the price for doing so and now like Belladonna, I wear a collar around my neck.

Speaking of her, I eyed the cat faunus as she guided me to this weapons engineer. As if sensing my eyes on her, she turned her head and shot an inquisitive gaze at me. I kept silence at first, not knowing what to say. Ever since I've gotten here, I feel like I've been under her constant scrutiny. I swear, she looks at every move I make like I'm about to bust out of this place while parading the heads of both Schnee sisters as the manor burns down behind me.

In complete honesty, Weiss purchase of me, or at least my skills, were the best thing that's happened to me since the war ended. Despite their reputation, the Schnee War Heroes (depending on who you asked) did not actually hate the faunus with a burning passion. At least, not the younger of the two. I haven't personally met the General herself, and I can't say I ever want to.

Since I've arrived here, I've been fed, clothed, and given a place to sleep. I haven't once been thrown into an arena with a hundred of rich humans throwing jeers and insults at me and the abused predator faunus I was forced to fight and kill. In my book, that's an improvement.

I blinked, which was the equivalent of shaking thoughts out of my head for me, and stared back at Blake, who stopped walking abruptly. I raised an eyebrow, prompting her to look around first before looking back to me. There were no guards here, Weiss decided I needed no armed guards around me after a month.

"Where did you learn to fight?"

Ah. So after three months, curiosity finally got to her.

"The same place you did."

"You were in the war; I figured as much. How did you survive?"

I shrugged, making my answer as vague as possible.

"I got lucky."

Blake scoffed, before flippantly responding.

"Lucky? You call being a slave lucky?"

My eyes narrowed, and for the first time in a long time I found myself angry with another faunus.

"No, I call being put into a mansion under the servitude of a girl who asks no more from you than making her dinner and running her errands _lucky._ I call having nothing to worry about in your day to day life _lucky._ I call not having to wonder if you'll have to kill the faunus who sleep next to you the day after _lucky._ "

Blake eyes widened before narrowing themselves, and she shifted into a defensive stance. She tensed, and her body language screamed of aggressiveness, with her cat ears drawn back. It didn't work.

Despite knowing what this girl can do, I stood taller than her by half a foot, and probably had over a hundred pounds on her. My life had once depended on how intimidating I looked before I fight, I was _not_ about to be intimidated by a cat faunus who hadn't picked up a weapon since the war ended.

As quickly as she tensed, her body relaxed again, before lowering her eyes from mine and shifting downward. Her ears returned to their normal position, and she spoke in a quieter voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, and I didn't mean to offend you."

I took a breath before releasing a breath and relaxing, my eyes never leaving her face.

"None taken. Come on, let's not keep this engineer of Weiss's waiting for too long."

With that, our usual silence resumed, and while it wasn't uncomfortable, it held a slight degree of awkwardness that wasn't there before. I couldn't tell if it was on her part or my part.

Soon, we reached our destination. In the manor's armory, (yes they had an armory) a thin, wiry man sat waiting, accompanied by a few guards. His eyes lit up at our arrival, more specifically the arrival of my weapons but that was beside the point.

After we exchanged a few words of greeting, I disengaged my gauntlet and handed it to him, sword and everything. I didn't miss the way Blake eyed my blade in a predatory fashion. The girl most definitely hasn't gotten her hands on a legitimate weapon in a while.

I kept a careful eye on this Alfonse as he carefully disassembled the weapon. He seemed fascinated how my gauntlet extended its bracer to house my un-activated sword. The sword itself was a thing of beauty, its sleek design a fairly large point of pride of mine when I created it. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

The choice for it to morph into a gun was something that I hadn't added to its design until much later after the blade itself had been created. As a result, I had to choose function over form in that scenario, with the semi-automatic carbine having many exposed inner workings and a skeletonized frame.

At one point I had wanted to make the gun fully automatic as well, ideally with the ability to shift between the two, but I had neither the resources nor the knowledge how to implement the idea. After a few minutes of contemplation, I mentioned this to Alfonse, who excitedly told me he could make it work, especially with the new technology available.

When he activated the shield, the man nearly squealed in excitement, I could tell. There were advantages and disadvantages to using a hardlight shield. On the plus side, it was nigh impenetrable and dissipated of ton of impact on its electrified surface, and it weighed basically nothing. It was amazing for catching opponents off guard.

On the negative side, it wasn't very great as an offensive tool. Unlike most physical shields, I couldn't bash someone across the face with it effectively, or really use it as a projectile in a last ditch situation. I also can't keep it up forever, especially if it's constantly taking hits for me. Projectile hits that is, when it came to physical blows it I was confident my shield was just as long lasting as any piece of metal.

As well as improved energy storage, I asked Alfonse if he could tweak the internal design so that I could possibly change the size of the barrier should I want to. With some contemplation, he conceded that he could make the field of coverage bigger, but at the cost of either energy consumption, or of barrier durability. I chose the former instead of the latter, as I didn't like the idea of anything past a meteor breaking through my shield.

After a few more exchanged words, the weapon engineer promised he'd have my equipment returned to me in under a week. With that, Blake and I left to go back to our quarters. On the way back, the cat faunus once again struck up conversation.

"Earlier, when you mentioned you learned how to fight in the same place I did, how did you know I what I could do? Or that I was in the war at all?"

I turned as we walked and stared at her once more.

"Because _Blake Belladonna_ , unlike the people around this manor, I know exactly who you are."

A little dramatic I admit, and a tad unnecessary, but it was kind of funny to watch all the color drain from her face immediately as she almost tripped as we were walking.

Reaching out, a gripped her shoulder firmly to keep her from falling over. When she recovered she looked at me with a mix of fear and suspicion.

"How long have you known?"

I shrugged, choosing to give her an honest answer.

"Since the moment I laid eyes on you in that courtyard the day they brought me here. Trust me, there aren't many cat faunus with your reputation in Remnant. Rest assured though, not many who do you know your face still live today."

Her silence resumed as we continued our way to our quarters.

"Do you intend on telling Weiss?"

I shook my head slowly.

"I haven't so far have I? I don't particularly plan to. But I will warn you. I have no idea how our resident heiress would react if she found out who you were. From what I can tell, she might hate you for your history, she might not. We all have secrets."

Blake said nothing to this, looking straight ahead instead, before changing subjects.

"She brought you here to train her, so that she'll be accepted to Beacon Academy."

It was my turn to scoff this time.

"Accepted? That academy will accept her the second her application appears at their doorstep. She wants to be the top of the academy, and number one in the world. I think she believes becoming a top of the line Huntress is the only thing left in Remnant that could put her on par with her sister."

"Does she know what that will entail? Beacon isn't just about fighting Grimm, they haven't even made much of an appearance in the past few decades. Its more so about combat itself, no matter who with. You think she can handle that?"

I shot Blake an inquisitive look.

"You've seen her fight. Much more recently. Are you saying she doesn't have a chance?"

"I…suppose she does. If she goes to Beacon though, what happens to us?"

The question brought me to a standstill. Somehow I hadn't thought about that. If Weiss leaves we'd be left at this manor; Beacon Academy didn't allow faunus slaves. We'd remain here, most likely serving Winter when she returned from wherever she is. The thought did not sit well with me. And from the look on Blake's face, it didn't sit well with her either.

-LINE BREAK-

 **Weiss POV**

I let the water from the showerhead cascade over me as I stood under its downpour with a thoughtless expression on my face. Shampoo drifted aimlessly on the shower floor, all of it slowly circling the drain. I preferred my water to be on the line between cool and warm, it helped me focus somehow.

One month. I had precisely one month before I departed the family manor for Beacon Academy. What could I accomplish in that one month? In my experience during wartime, I could do a hell of a lot of things in a month.

I stepped out of the shower and was assaulted with a wave of cold air, giving me goosebumps causing my entire body to shiver briefly. I reached for the towel to dry myself, feeling the soft fabric wick away the moisture.

Before long I caught myself looking at my own reflection in the mirror once more. More specifically, the scar that adorned my right eye. Unconsciously, my eye twitched at the sight of it before I looked away. I detested the way the scar looked on my otherwise flawless face, but chose not to have it covered or removed due to the reminder it gave me. A very important reminder.

In my mind, I knew exactly what I had to do in my one month. Improving in combat was not the only thing I needed to do before my entrance to Beacon. The past summer's training sessions with Oris have benefited me greatly, but it wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough until I could best him. If I couldn't beat the Champion of Vaccuo, there was no chance for me to defeat the Mistral combat prodigy, Pyrrah Nikos.

According to the records, this girl had graduated Sanctum Academy as the best combatant in the history of the school, with a very, very long win streak with a total of zero losses. If that wasn't enough, she was somewhat of a celebrity in her home kingdom. Nikos's tournament matches were the most watched event in the four kingdoms, not just Mistral. Her combat style was well analyzed, yet no one could beat her.

It's been long rumored that Nikos had a semblance, and a powerful one at that. But fighters weren't required to ever disclose that, as it was seen as part of the fighting culture of a tournament. Not to mention if the girl did have a hidden semblance, it was by no means apparent, unlike my own.

As soon as I heard that she had put her tournament life on hold to attend Beacon Academy to further improve her skills, I realized what I had to do. It should have been obvious, but thinking back, father never would have allowed it, as it would mean that he would have no one left to fully take control of the family business.

Winter however, didn't share that particular view of his. Following his death, she delegated responsibilities to the rarely consulted Board of Directors, before semi-retiring from the Atlesian Military in order to take her position as CEO.

Beacon Academy was where I needed to be. Not just to prove to Winter that I had more value to this family than just her right hand woman, but for myself. The war sickened me to my very core, its memories haunt me nightly. The scar above my right eye throbbed.

I threw off the towel and slipped a robe on before leaving my bathroom in a hurry, eager to get away from the reflection I hated. My reflection.

As soon as my bed came into view I immediately calmed down as Blake came into view. I couldn't ever tell her this, and I doubted I ever would, but in a lot of ways I needed her presence. My eyes flickered to her cat ears, their soft fur seemed to glow in the light of the bedroom. My presence obviously alerted her, as she turned her gaze away from the window and back to me.

I tore my eyes from her cat ears before motioning for her to get on the bed. It had become routine at this point. Almost every night I had her share my bed. I never took things too far, which was out of fear I suppose. Although she was my slave, I don't think I could do something like that without her wanting to, no matter how badly I desired to. I wasn't Winter.

That didn't stop me however, from taking advantage of what the cat faunus did allow me. As soon as she lay down, I made my way to the bed and straddled her. Reaching down, I pressed my lips to hers aggressively, trying to convey a dozen emotions I would never be able to say to her.

Briefly I wondered if she thought I loved her. Honestly I was still debating that myself, but I don't think I can say that I do. At least not now. This was the girl that kept my nightmares at bay during the night, though she might not know it. Her scent somehow reminded me of a time where I had never shed blood before. The way the heat from her body and the smoothness of her skin felt made me realize I was still human, despite the things I tell myself I don't feel.

And right now, that was all that I wanted. My kiss deepened, and she seemed to respond a bit more. Her left hand found their way to the back of my neck, before her right slipped between the folds of my gown and brushed over my hip.

I let out a slight moan, before pulling back and kissing her throat hungrily. My hands roamed as they pleased, before all of a sudden Blake grabbed both my wrists and shifted her weight, flipping us. Once she was on top of me she leaned forward, her black hair tickling my face, and I felt her soft lips on mine once again, before her grip on my wrists slackened.

I chose to stay like that, letting her press soft kisses onto my cold skin as she pulled herself closer to me, and we fell back onto the pillows easily. I felt the thoughts of the war, of Beacon, and of my scar fading to the back of my head into nothingness as a wave of tiredness hit me.

Before long I felt myself drift to sleep, the last thought I could remember was inhaling Blake's scent, one of lavender mixed with something else that made it unique. I whispered something unintelligible before passing out completely.

-LINE BREAK-

 **Blake POV**

Thank you. What was that supposed to mean to me? Was she even talking to me? These thoughts whirled around my head as I checked the time. 3:23 A.M., I sighed lightly. I shifted my gaze to the ice princess herself. Even though it was nearly pitch black, I could see her just fine.

Weiss's face looked peaceful, with her chest rising and falling in even motions with every breath she took. Although I know I didn't want to admit it, this Schnee was beautiful when she wanted to be, and downright gorgeous even when she didn't try to be.

I groaned, chastising myself for the girlish thoughts before setting my head down on her shoulder again. What was I supposed to do? It's not like Weiss had the books I liked to read before the war when I got the chance just tucked away on her bookshelf next to her 5 volumes of _The History of Remnant and its Inhabitants._

I thought back to my conversation with Oris earlier. Should Weiss leave the manor, all the mellowness I had somehow acquired under her servitude would melt away faster I could blink. I had no intentions of being kept under Winter Schnee's thumb for the remainder of my life, which was probably quite short if Winter was involved.

I shut my eyes in frustration and tried my best to fall asleep. There wasn't much I could do right now, but Weiss had a month before she left. I could figure something out in that month. It was easy. I kill the elder Schnee, Weiss suddenly has no one to prove herself to, and bingo. It was that simple.

I scoffed at my own sarcastic thoughts, before I seemed to sink deeper into Weiss's sleepy hold. I was terrifying, how attached I had become to the heiress despite my initial feelings for her, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care at this point.

My mind drifted to Oris. Oh, Oris. This particular faunus confused me the most, even more than my love/hate for the ice princess. He wasn't at all what I thought he would be like upon first meeting him. The dark, brooding, imposing figure I had seen initially wasn't him, not really. It was a half-truth, a lie of omission, an act that contained a hint of truth.

It had taken me a bit, but I soon realized his initial appearance, and his habit of not speaking unless spoken to was a trait he acquired in his time as gladiator. After all I surmised, your opponent wasn't going to be intimidated by smiles and friendly conversation.

His fighting skills were something to be admired, and his seemingly omniscient view of a battlefield was something to be feared. And like me, he has an attachment to Weiss Schnee that he probably doesn't even know about.

Her departure, if it comes to be, would be even more brutal for him. There's no telling what Winter would do with a Faunus Gladiator. Especially one such as him. A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind, none of them ending well.

Finally, I decided that if in this next month I would have a plan of action regarding Weiss, it would have to involve Oris. I would need his help, and I can only hope he would agree, though I doubt he would be against anything I suggest. No one survives the Vaccuo Pits for as long as he has without a strong degree of tenacity and persistence.

The clouds outside the window had parted as I was thinking, and now the moonlight shone through the windows, the shattered moon giving off an intense glow. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of light caught my attention. I swiftly turned towards it, my eyes scanning for what it was.

There, in the corner of the room was a painting on the wall. Actually, it was the only painting on the wall, and the only real piece of decoration in the room, which I had noticed the first time I came in here. What was different this time however, was that the painting had been moved to a different position.

Carefully extracting myself from Weiss's grip, I silently padded my way to the painting. The moment I came close enough, its purpose became clear to me.

Weiss has a safe. A hidden safe, but she must have forgotten to put the painting in its original position securely as the metal hidden behind it had given off a reflection. The painting itself was a portrait of Weiss and Winter together in their Atlesian Military uniforms. It was a rather odd painting for Weiss to have, but its purpose was blaringly obvious to me now.

With caution, I pulled back the painting even further, as it was on some sort of sliding mechanism. Thankfully it made zero noise, and once it was out of the way I took a good look at this safe. It was complex, with a keypad as well what looked like a retinal scanner. A million things could be in this safe, and my curiosity burned like nothing else.

There was no way I could get into this tonight however, that I knew. With reluctance, I slid the painting back into place, securing it completely this time. I quietly made my way back to the bed, careful with how I got onto the bed without disturbing Weiss. She was a light sleeper I knew, but she made no sound as I slipped beneath the covers once more.

Gazing at her face one last time, I closed my eyes and willed myself to fall asleep without another thought.

 **A/N: Drop a review if you like please, I thrive off of feedback and really hope to hear from more of you. If you're interested, I do plan on introducing many other characters into this story, including Yang, Ruby, JNPR, Sun, etc. Stick with the story and find out. Thanks for reading.**


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